One Man’s Everest

On August 27th, 2015, Kenton published his debut book and autobiography: One Man’s Everest.

In 2013, Kenton marked the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of the world’s highest peak by climbing not just Everest but Nuptse and Lhotse, known as The Triple Crown. It was an astonishing feat of endurance. Kenton and his partner gained and lost 10 vertical kilometres in the 120 hours it took them to climb the whole Everest horseshoe, barely eating or sleeping, and burning so many calories he returned two stone lighter. It was the first time anyone had ever climbed all three peaks in a single push and had been previously thought impossible due to the amount of time spent in the Death Zone – an altitude incapable of sustaining human life due to the lack of oxygen.

“One Man’s Everest is Kenton’s story: from The Triple crown to his ten other ascents of Everest and his stories from life as an expert high-altitude mountaineer”

Kenton knows Nepal, Kathmandu and Everest like the back of his hand. He has been a press commentator on the recent devastating tragedy in Nepal and lost several friends and colleagues in the disaster; his book has an additional introduction discussing what happened from an insider’s perspective (for example looking at the distribution of aid and the prioritisation of helicopters for wealthy tourists on the mountain over reaching the poorest villages), and the repercussions for the climbing community and Nepal’s tourism.

With the dangers of the mountain so clear in both the news and his own personal experience, and with a wife and two small children waiting for his safe return from every death-defying challenge… why does he do it? In this book Kenton discusses the obsessive drive necessary and describes how it feels to stand on top of the world.